ASIA / Burma Imprisons 9 Over Funeral Eulogy

Chronicle News Services

Published
4:00 am PDT, Saturday, May 13, 1995

1995-05-13 04:00:00 PDT Bangkok -- Nine Burmese have been sentenced to seven years in prison each for praising the nation's first prime minister at his funeral, according to a report by Amnesty International yesterday.

The nine were among about 50 young people arrested at the February 20 funeral of U Nu, who became Burma's prime minister after the country gained independence from Britain in 1948. He was ousted in a coup in 1969, and the army has controlled the country since.